A suspected bike thief was arrested by officers of the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) after having been captured by one of the 32 closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras installed along the Pasay Rotonda area under Project SAFE KAm of the Philippine National Police (PNP).

The recording showed Lorenzo Macario, who is 46 years old and currently unemployed, stealing a mountain bike. The bike was owned by Bartolome Padual, a security guard, who parked his bike near the area.

The suspect was subsequently apprehended through the assistance of the Libertad Taft Police Community Precinct, who saw the theft via the recorded CCTV footage.

The arrest was reported on Wednesday by Senior Superintendent Manuel M. Lukban Jr., Chief of the Regional Investigation and Detective Management Division to Secretary of the Interior and Local Government Mar Roxas. Roxas ordered the subsequent installation of “SAFE KAms” in other high-crime areas in Metro Manila. These include the University Belt Area in Manila, Baclaran Redemptorist in Parañaque City, EDSA corner Aurora Boulevard in Quezon City, La Salle Taft in Manila, and Monumento in Caloocan City.

Lukban also reported that since the project was launched in the Pasay Rotonda area, there have been no more reported taxi hold-ups within the vicinity.

Roxas launched the project on May 29 at Kabayan Hotel in Pasay Rotonda, where a total of 32 CCTV cameras were installed and “Safe Taxi Zones” monitored by CCTV cameras were established.